Back home at last

National Guard unit members return to South Bend after Iraq deployment.

National Guard unit members return to South Bend after Iraq deployment.

May 09, 2008|ADAM JACKSON Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- "Wide awake! Wide awake!" Those words, whispered in the soft pre-dawn mist of a central Indiana morning in 1811, helped the men who would become the ancestors of the 151st Infantry Regiment of the Indiana National Guard meet a vicious attack with valor during the Battle of Tippecanoe. That rallying cry stayed with the unit as it grew through the decades, serving with distinction on fabled fields of battle -- Shiloh, Gettysburg, Leyte, Bien Hoa Province. And on Thursday, that storied motto, and its message of vigilance and honor, was on the lips of the former unit commander, retired Lt. Col. Tim Warrick, as he welcomed the soldiers of Company F, 151st Infantry back home from a nine-month deployment in yet another field of conflict -- Iraq. At a welcoming ceremony for the soldiers at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in South Bend, Warrick, who still has close ties with the unit despite his retirement, commended the soldiers on a deployment in which they amassed a flawless record of service and lost not a single comrade to enemy action. Now, upon their return, he said he hopes the community will be ready to welcome the veterans with the support he said their service has earned them, from education to employment. "This represents the third or fourth deployment for some of these men," Warrick said. "We need to make sure that they get their rightful jobs back." Before heading back to work, however, there will likely be many celebrations. More than 100 friends and family members of the returning soldiers gathered Thursday at the ceremony to welcome members of the unit, who were also greeted in late April when they flew into Indianapolis directly from their overseas service. But while many of the troops had had the opportunity to see their families briefly since their return, the mood at the ceremony reflected a joy that was just as fresh a week later as it was in Indianapolis. "I feel wonderful!" said Betty Kariuki of South Bend, who came to the event to welcome her husband, Spec. Samuel Kariuki, home. "We are going to go home and have a good dinner, and then maybe just get a movie and sit around and enjoy each other's company." The unit was deployed to Iraq last summer and was stationed just west of Baghdad. Its job involved providing armed escort to hundreds of convoys carrying supplies through the region, a task that meant hours in the dusty interior of a Humvee or scanning the trash-strewn roads from behind the muzzle of a heavy machine gun. For many of the men, it also meant a life experience they will forever remember. "It was definitely a learning experience," Spec. David Bonnell said. "I learned a lot about Iraq, and a lot about myself. "But I am glad to be back," he said with a laugh, looking at his camouflage fatigues. "I'm looking forward to wearing a pair of jeans again." After flying back to the country at the end of last month, the soldiers were given a short leave before heading back to Camp Atterbury, where they turned in equipment and conducted other demobilization activities. Those activities were concluded this week, freeing the soldiers to return home. Before the returning soldiers arrived, small groups of family and friends gathered in the windswept parking lot. "I'm looking forward to seeing him," Wendy Aberegg, said, waiting for her brother, Spec. Wayne Aberegg, to appear while balancing her 2-year-old niece, Morgan, on her hip. "And I think (Morgan) is ready to see her daddy again!" she said. And then, they came. They came in personal cars, pickups piled high with camouflage bags of gear, minivans, even a Saturn with temporary tags and a bright orange Monte Carlo with a rumbling dual exhaust. A cheer erupted from the bystanders, and loved ones searched the cars full of tanned, smiling faces for a glimpse of their soldier. It was a feeling of relief for many families, a new sense of security that husbands would be there for their wives, sons would be there for their mothers, and fathers, like Spec. Nick Gundrum, would be there for their sons. "This is what I have been waiting for," he said, cradling his 6-month-old son, Blake, in his arms, kissing the crown of the child's head as his wife, Kirsten, smiled. "I'm just going to hold him."